1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surface cleaning equipment, and more particularly to a surface blasting apparatus which recovers blasting abrasive and debris from the treated surface, and provides means for separating the debris from the abrasive.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A number of types of surface blasters have been heretofore devised which recover abrasive and debris from the treated surface and utilize various methods to separate debris from the abrasive, so that the cleaned abrasive can be reused. Some of such surface blasting apparatus utilize mechanical pickup of the abrasive from the treated surface and a conveying system to carry the abrasive back to an abrasive storage hopper.
The prior surface blasters use a variety of methods to clean the abrasive so that the abrasive can be reused without frequent interruptions in service. One method of such cleaning is to use an air wash which passes through the abrasive carrying dust and debris away. A problem is that this air wash does not provide adequate cleaning of the abrasive, so that frequent stops to manually clean the abrasive are required. Also, the prior blasters do not adequately clean the air which is discharged from the machine which results in undesirable dust problems for the operator and passersby.
The apparatus of the present invention provides a means of adequately air cleaning the abrasive and filtering the dust and debris from the air stream.